Canadian Finance Minister Joe Oliver addresses Mayors during the Canadian Federation of Municipalities "Big City Mayors" conference in Toronto, February 6, 2015. REUTERS/J.P. Moczulski

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadians do not need to be at all pessimistic about the country’s economic prospects despite problems caused by a sharp decline in the price of oil, Finance Minister Joe Oliver said on Monday.

Oliver said although lower crude prices meant revenues had fallen, Canadian growth this year would exceed the average seen in the Group of Seven industrialized nations and noted the economy added 35,400 jobs in December.

“Canada is moving forward, better than most countries, and I don’t think we should be pessimistic at all about the prospects for our great country,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, repeating a promise to balance the budget in the 2015/16 fiscal year.